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Nothing is impossible in sports and the Korean girls proved it by ousting defending champion China 3-1 in the just-concluded Uber Cup final in Kuala Lumpur. Playing as the underdog, South Korea fought its best to foil China’s ambition in taking home the Uber Cup for the 13th time, winning the coveted trophy for the first time.

It was a different fate, unfortunately, for Indonesia’s Thomas Cup team who bowed out to defending champion China. The national team’s ambition to repeat the sweet success at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, dashed after Taufik Hidayat and teammates lost 0-3.

Reaching the final stage, however, was progress for Indonesia’s Thomas Cup team. It had failed in the semifinals three consecutive times.

The last time Indonesia won the Thomas Cup was in 2002 in Guangzhou, China, defeating Malaysia to craft history as the country with the most victories at the event with 13 wins since 1958, including five consecutive wins from 1994.

Squeezed between reality shows and soap operas, the live matches of the Thomas and Uber Cup finals were slight relief for badminton lovers at home, who threw their weight behind national shuttlers during the biennial events.

Indonesian-born coach Tang Xianhu was the key to China’s fourth-straight Thomas Cup men’s badminton team championship in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, said a top Chinese shuttler.

Tang, 68, played a pivotal role in the tournament and performed flawlessly, China’s first singles player Lin Dan said.

“[Tang] is my coach, but I also call him grandfather. He is a responsible coach. I was lucky to train under his direction. He not only guided me technically, but taught me about life,” Olympic champion Lin said, as reported by kompas.com.

Tang was courtside whenever Lin played in the tournament. The coach saw Lin overpower his Indonesian rival, Taufik Hidayat, 3-0 in Sunday’s final match.

Tang, previously known as Tong Sinfu, helped Indonesia dominate the badminton world in the 1990s,

Born in Teluk Betung, Lampung, in 1942, Tang later moved to China. He returned to Indonesia in 1986 as a coach and was recruited by the Badminton Association of Indonesia in 1990. He helped Indonesian teams to victories at the Thomas Cup and its women’s equivalent, the Uber Cup, and coached players who won Olympic gold medals and other prestigious titles.

Tang left Indonesia for China in 1998 after the government rejected his request for naturalization.

The story of Tang is true and we blamed our INA Government by acting so stupidly...even Su si, hendrawan or Alan were so patriotic as Tang...what did they get? NONE...not even a ' Thank you" and they have to beg for citizenships...so for those to question INA's chinese descent patriotism...think twice !!!

The story of Tang is true and we blamed our INA Government by acting so stupidly...even Su si, hendrawan or Alan were so patriotic as Tang...what did they get? NONE...not even a ' Thank you" and they have to beg for citizenships...so for those to question INA's chinese descent patriotism...think twice !!!

That is not a surprise, not only in badminton but in other facets of life too in Malaysia as well. Sometimes we wonder with so much natural resources, yet these Asian kingdoms lack so far behind island nations like Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong. To touch more on this topic would venture in politics and get banned, so let's leave it at that.

That is not a surprise, not only in badminton but in other facets of life too in Malaysia as well. Sometimes we wonder with so much natural resources, yet these Asian kingdoms lack so far behind island nations like Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong. To touch more on this topic would venture in politics and get banned, so let's leave it at that.

Indonesia really suffered from colonization. It affected social and mental development of this nation. 350 years! can you imagine? The more you know how the occupation took place the more you know how it affected the nation development. Of course you can't only blame this external factor. There is for sure own responsibility. But we should not just blaming a nation without knowing crucial factors which had affected its development. I don't think people can completely agree on the reason. Like you said, its better not to go on discussing this issue.

The story of Tang is true and we blamed our INA Government by acting so stupidly...even Su si, hendrawan or Alan were so patriotic as Tang...what did they get? NONE...not even a ' Thank you" and they have to beg for citizenships...so for those to question INA's chinese descent patriotism...think twice !!!

Coach Tang Xianhu (a.k.a. Oom Tong, as he is known by his former students) did try to get an Indonesian citizenship while he was back in INA... Some sources even said that he even spent a huge chunk of his own money to process the citizenship... I do not know the detail of the process, but eventually ...Oom Tong lost all the money he spent and got: nothing. Apparently nobody in PBSI or the rest of the INA bureaucracy cared enough for him to make him a valuable INA citizen...

So, broken-hearted... he went back to China. Li Yongbo later on entrusted him with just one task: train one student, with the mission to make him an Olympic champ in 2008 (and possibly in 2012 too) and make him a driving force in winning Sudirman Cups, Thomas Cups, and other prestigious Individual titles. That one student: Lin Dan.

Coach Tang Xianhu (a.k.a. Oom Tong, as he is known by his former students) did try to get an Indonesian citizenship while he was back in INA... Some sources even said that he even spent a huge chunk of his own money to process the citizenship... I do not know the detail of the process, but eventually ...Oom Tong lost all the money he spent and got: nothing. Apparently nobody in PBSI or the rest of the INA bureaucracy cared enough for him to make him a valuable INA citizen...

So, broken-hearted... he went back to China. Li Yongbo later on entrusted him with just one task: train one student, with the mission to make him an Olympic champ in 2008 (and possibly in 2012 too) and make him a driving force in winning Sudirman Cups, Thomas Cups, and other prestigious Individual titles. That one student: Lin Dan.

I am broken hearted too. Doesn't matter for me whether he produced Lin Dan or not, but he deserved much-much better as he already contributed too many for INA badminton.

Tommy Sugiarto became the latest shuttler to leave the national training camp, saying on Tuesday he planned to pursue a professional career at his own pace.

The world’s 123rd-ranked singles player said his education was behind the decision.

“Actually, I sent my resignation letter on May 27, so I was no longer a national team player from then on,” the 22-year-old said. “I want to continue my education in college while still playing badminton professionally. This is for a better future

“Now I can choose tournaments that I want to be in, ones which won’t clash with my college schedule.”

Tommy has languished in a period of stagnancy since joining the national setup in 2005.

The son of Indonesian badminton legend Icuk Sugiarto — who won the 1983 men’s singles world championship and helped Indonesia to a Thomas Cup victory in 1984 — has struggled to live up to his father’s achievements. Tommy made his name by winning the third-tier Jakarta Open in 2005, after which he was called up by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI). He followed that by winning the Thailand Challenge a year later.
--------------------Antara & Jakarta Globe